N&O girls golf preview: Can area golfers live up to last year?

Last year was perhaps the greater Triangle area’s best in girls golf.

Green Hope and Cardinal Gibbons won their first state titles. Players from Wake, Orange and Lee counties went 1-4 in the 4A championship and 1-3 in 3A.

Athens Drive’s Jennifer Chang, a sophomore, returns to defend the 4A crown. She became the third Jaguars golfer to win the 4A title in as many years.

In 3A, Lee County’s Muk Shoomee dominated the championship, firing a 6-under par over the two days. Shoomee’s five-under par 67 in the final round included a 32 on the back nine at Long Leaf, vaulting her into the lead and a second straight state title.

This year the area is home to five of the state’s top seven golfers, as ranked by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association.

Teams to watch

Cardinal Gibbons: The Crusaders are poised to do well in 4A after winning last year’s 3A title. An all-sophomore trio of Riley Smyth, Hailey Freedman and Hannah Rose Bruxvoort gives Gibbons a shot at winning the 4A crown.

Chapel Hill: Finishing second behind Shoomee in the 3A championship was the first-round leader, Chapel Hill’s Gina Kim, who has spent the summer heading into her sophomore year as a Rolex All-American doing well in junior tournaments – with a win, a second-place, and reaching the round of 16 in the U. S. Girls Junior; Polo had her up to No. 41 nationally.

Fuquay-Varina: Senior Brittany Grene leads the Bengals (fifth in 4A).

Green Hope: The reigning 4A champs only have Reilly Thomas returning from the top three, but the Falcons always have others waiting in the wings.

Holly Springs: The Golden Hawks edged Green Hope for the conference and regional title and finished fourth in the state.

Lee County: The Yellow Jackets have their top three back: Shoomee, senior Megan Von Canon and sophomore Morgan McRae.

Northern Durham: Formerly home-schooled, Jessica and Sarah Spicer are now enrolled at Northern. The twins are ranked in the state’s top five. Instantly, the Knights are a state title contender.

N.C. Science and Math: Jennifer Yang, Marci Sessions and Cheryl Wang are back from seventh-place 1A/2A team.

South Granville: The Vikings were eighth in 1A/2A and return sophomore Claire Patrick, senior Breanne Longmire and senior Cameron Patrick.

Union Pines: Seventh in 3A after winning regional. Was led by Abby Parsons (T-6th). Dametrah Lewis, a senior, also returns.

Wakefield: The Cap-8 champs just missed the cut to qualify as a team for the 4A championships.

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 8:54 PM with the headline "N&O girls golf preview: Can area golfers live up to last year?."